The design proposed is in response to a fictional brief which explores archaeology, geology and a place to physically connect with artefacts. The design proposes to re-purpose a vacant industrial unit on the Chessington Park industrial estate and convert it into a cultural centre, Lost to Time. This re-purposed unit will involve a 4m deep trench being excavated through the industrial unit, creating two independent spaces with new thick walls made of limestone and flint, with a voided channel separating them. The building will house historical artefacts that other museums have rejected, saving them from going to landfill which is their current destination. Not only will this scheme save objects of importance, but also provide the people of Tolworth and the wider community with somewhere to learn and tangibly experience their heritage.
I imagined that the client, Recycle Archaeology, has asked for a space to promote these found objects and to connect the concepts of archaeology with geology. The discarded museum objects represent the archaeology and the proposed 4m deep trench in which the museum will be cited represents the geology. Through the layering of the Geology, the cultural and material remains left behind by human civilisations over periods of time are revealed. ‘The client’ requested a space where people can connect to the past, present and future, and learn the importance of surveying, excavating, recording and preserving. It is this request that Lost to Time will provide a space for archaeological digs within Tolworth Court Farm Fields, for people to slowly uncover the past and preserve it for the future using the workshops for preserving and documentation rooms. Upon completion of the recording stage, artefacts will be exhibited in the museum area.
Lost to Time is positioned on the edge of an Industrial estate, boarding Tolworth Court Farm fields which contains a Roman road and is boarded by a chalk stream, the Hogsmill river. The reconstruction uses limestone and flint.